Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency (SSR2) Review Team Final Report

Whereas, under Section 4.6 of the ICANN Bylaws, ICANN is obligated to conduct a "periodic review of ICANN's execution of its commitment to enhance the operational stability, reliability, resiliency, security, and global interoperability of the systems and processes, both internal and external, that directly affect and/or are affected by the Internet's system of unique identifiers that ICANN coordinates ('SSR Review')." A community-led review team – the second Security, Stability, and Resiliency (SSR2) Review Team – was announced on 14 February 2017 to fulfill that mandate.

Whereas, on 28 October 2017, the ICANN Board, in consideration of concerns received, sent a letter to the SSR2 Review Team to suspend its work, pending input from ICANN Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs) on any need to adjust the scope, terms of reference, work plan, skill set and/or resources allocated to the SSR2 Review.

Whereas, the suspension generated a dialog between SO/ACs chairs and ICANN Board and led to a request for additional membership on the SSR2 Review Team and the engagement of an external facilitator to assist the review team in resolving issues of scope, membership, and other concerns as raised. On 7 June 2018, ICANN org announced the formal restart of the SSR2 Review Team.

Whereas, on 24 January 2020, the SSR2 Review Team released a draft report for public comment.

Whereas, on 25 January 2021, the SSR2 Review Team submitted a final report containing 63 full consensus recommendations to the ICANN Board for consideration.

Whereas, the SSR2 Review Team Final Report is the culmination of nearly four years of work by 17 review team members, representing over 2,800 hours of meetings and countless more hours of work.1

Whereas, the SSR2 Review Team Final Report was published for public comment on 28 January 2021 to inform Board action on the report, in accordance with Bylaw requirements. The summary of community input received on the final report highlights a variety of viewpoints, including community views on which recommendations the Board should act on quickly as well as which recommendations the Board should consider rejecting.

Whereas, the Board has devoted significant time to following the SSR2 Review Team's work, including through the Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the ICANN Board (OEC) and the Board Caucus Group on SSR2 (SSR2 Caucus), to achieve this decision today.

Whereas, on 20 July 2021, the OEC discussed and approved its recommendation that the Board take action on the recommendations in the SSR2 Review Team Final Report, as enumerated in the Scorecard titled "Final SSR2 Review Team Recommendations – Board Action." The OEC's recommendation was informed by the work of the SSR2 Caucus, which was established and included the Board-appointed members of the SSR2 Review Team. The SSR2 Caucus led the Board's efforts in reviewing the recommendations and ICANN org's assessments and supports the substantive action on the recommendations as provided to the Board.

Resolved (2021.07.22.11), the Board thanks the members of the SSR2 Review Team for their dedication and work to achieve the SSR2 Review Team Final Report.

Resolved (2021.07.22.12), the Board takes action on each of the 63 recommendations issued within the SSR2 Review Team Final Report, as specified within the Scorecard titled "Final SSR2 Review Team Recommendations – Board Action." The Board directs ICANN's President and CEO, or his designee(s), to take all actions as directed within that Scorecard.

Resolved (2021.07.22.13), for the 34 recommendations placed into one of the three pending statuses, the Board commits to take further action on these recommendations subsequent to the completion of steps as identified in the Scorecard. The Board directs the ICANN President and CEO, or his designee(s), to provide to the Board relevant information, as requested in the Scorecard, or periodic updates on progress toward gathering relevant information, starting within six months from this Board action, in order to support further Board action on each recommendation.